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Republique of France
History Pre-war history World War history Dominion Territorially, France is a shadow of its former self. Napoleon’s imperial dominion over the Iberian Peninsula is long gone. The region of Provence, including the vital naval base at Toulon, and the island of Corsica, were ceded to the Italian League after the chaos following Napoleon’s death in 1804. Its old power in North and West Africa has also been supplanted by the Britannians and Italians, although it retains quite a considerable amount of economic influence in the region. Currently, the Republique does not exert direct rule over any territory outside of France itself. However, the small kingdom of Belgium, although nominally independent, has effectively been a French military and economic satellite state since end of the 1830s. Further afield, French trade missions and military advisors operate worldwide, using their alliance with the Prussians to work alongside Dutch free traders and mercenaries in places as far away as China. Although strictly speaking these concerns operate as private enterprises, they are all linked in some way to the French state, enabling the Republique to keep its finger on the pulse of foreign affairs, despite lacking an extensive colonial empire. Government describing parliaments, councils etc Millitary Forces The French military, formerly the terror of Europe, was shattered by 1810; the long campaign against the Britannians in Spain, the civil war between Napoleon’s marshals and fledgling republican government, and the Prussian invasion had all combined to wreck French military power. The nadir of this process was the ceding of Provence to the Italian League, a humiliation for the French which rivalled that of Trafalgar. French forces, other than a few mercenary companies, played virtually no direct part in the Battle of Waterloo, being unable even to contest the Britannian occupation of the Pas de Calais which allowed them to channel their forces into Belgium to face Blucher’s Prussians. Since the advent of peace, the Republique has quietly rebuilt its military forces. Although now is the first time that France has been officially at war since 1815, French forces have been active around the world in one form or another since the 1830s. Military missions have been working with the Prussians, with the Ottoman Empire (in an unofficial capacity) and, lately, the Empire of the Blazing Sun. In particular, French engineers have been instrumental in strengthening and modernising the Wolfgang Fortresses, Prussia’s primary defence against the Russo-Polish invasion. The French military is small compared to those of its neighbours, but it is a highly elite and well-motivated organisation. Like the Blazing Sun, France fields integrated combined-arms formations called Legions, although those of the French consist of only land and air divisions, for reasons explained below. The French soldier, commonly known by the honourable epithet chasseur, or ‘hunter’, is a highly disciplined and well-equipped instrument of war. The French military, unable to match in numbers the conscript mass armies of Prussia and Russia, focuses on training and technological innovation to make up for this deficit in materiel. Nowhere has this become more apparent than in the French Navy; it has acquired Gravity Nullification Engine (GNE) technology, an innovation that no other nation as yet possesses. By means of this mysterious attribute, French seagoing vessels are capable of lifting themselves out of the water and becoming fully airborne for considerable periods of time. Although their speed is no match for purpose designed flying craft, the firepower they can bring to bear is virtually unmatched by anything else in the air, and they can operate freely over land and water. How the Republique got hold of this expertise is unclear, although fingers point to both Louis-Napoleon’s previous association with Lord Sturgeon’s expeditions, and the influence of the so-called ‘dissident’ Markov. Either way, the French navy, though limited in its reach, is a now a force that even the Britannians are taking very seriously once again. On the Tabletop Signature Weaponry: Heat Lances, heavy anti-aircraft weaponry Behind the Scenes The Republique of France is the in-game equivalent of the post-Napoleon Second French Republic. The point of divergence is the death of Napoleon I and the end of the First French Empire in 1804, rather than the real world events where the Empire ended in 1815. As in our history, the first and current President of the French Republic is "Louis Napoleon Bonaparte", the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and in our history Napoleon III Second French Empire. Category:Nations Category:Major Nations Category:Imperial Bond Category:Republique of France